Senators Press Nominee Over Reports of Outside Access to Treasury and IRS Systems
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Summary
Senators raised allegations that outside personnel tied to Elon Musk or "Doge" had accessed or attempted to influence Treasury and IRS payment systems. The nominee said he was unaware of such access and pledged to follow legal guidance and consult Treasury counsel if confirmed.
WASHINGTON — Multiple senators used the Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing for Mike Faulkinder to press concerns that outside personnel may have accessed Treasury and IRS systems and to seek commitments to protect taxpayer data.
Ranking Member Wyden told the committee he had received responses from Treasury that, he said, confirmed "Doge personnel infiltrated the Treasury Department payment systems with the intent to cut off USAID payments authorized by the congress." Wyden and other senators said they were worried that unauthorized access could expose personally identifiable information or be used to block congressionally authorized payments.
Nominee Mike Faulkinder responded that, to his knowledge, "Elon Musk does not have access to the payment system" and that "only people authorized to access IRS information will be given access to IRS information." He said he would consult the Office of General Counsel and follow the law if there were requests for access to tax-return information.
Senator Cortez Masto and Senator Hassan pointed to Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code, which limits disclosure of tax return information, and asked whether Faulkinder would ensure compliance. Faulkinder said he would follow the law and pledged to work with committee staff and the other agencies involved to address concerns.
Senator Whitehouse noted there has been at least one judicial order temporarily blocking access to a party alleged to have interfered with payment systems; Whitehouse asked whether, if that order were lifted, the nominee would allow access. Faulkinder replied that he understands "only people who are authorized Treasury employees to have access to the information" will be granted it and that disciplinary procedures exist if procedures are violated.
Across the exchanges, senators repeatedly asked for specific, written assurances and for documentary material; several said the committee would request additional follow-up in writing. Faulkinder repeatedly said he would work with the general counsel, IRS, the Bureau of Fiscal Service and other offices to ensure lawful access controls and to follow disclosure requirements.
The hearing raised questions that senators said require documentary follow-up, including the scope of any court orders, the text of any memoranda of agreement governing detailees' system access and logs of who has accessed Treasury and IRS systems.